


Tiny Feet, Summer Breeze

by PilotInTheStars



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Gen, Syndulla Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-01
Updated: 2018-03-01
Packaged: 2019-03-25 09:37:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13831443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PilotInTheStars/pseuds/PilotInTheStars
Summary: “Hera,” her mother began.“Yes, Mama?”“I’m going to have a baby.”





	Tiny Feet, Summer Breeze

**Author's Note:**

> This started off as a 200 word scene, which led to me being inspired to write like 3 other scenes, which were all able to be connected together to create, well, this.
> 
> I'm not sure if I necessarily love the idea of Hera having a brother (it was kind of out of nowhere, with nothing truly to back it up), but the thought was enough to get me writing. This is purely me thinking about what Hera would think while her mother was expecting. I also didn't name her brother, simply for hoping that he will get a name someday.
> 
> I also had some trouble with the prenatal care system in Star Wars, which I talk more about in the end notes.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

It was almost the peak of summer, when it was hottest on Ryloth, and the blazing sun kept even the most energetic children in the shade of their homes. It left everyone exhausted, and one couldn’t wait for the dusk to get a bit of relief.

It was a moment just like that, when Hera was curled up with her mother in the sitting room as the sun set. Her mother reclined on the full length of the couch, Hera resting on her chest and watching the Tann province through the open window. 

Her mother had her arms around her tightly, and her eyes off at a spot on the ground, obviously in thought. Her arms loosened.

Hera lifted her head and looked up at her mother. She sat back on her heels.

“Hera,” her mother began.

“Yes, Mama?”

“I’m going to have a baby.”

Hera looked up. “A baby?” 

“A baby,” she confirmed.

Hera’s aunt, her father’s sister, had a baby almost two years before. She couldn’t process all of it then. However, she knew it was a big deal, and was even more so when there was an actual child around. There was a baby growing in her mother now.

She curled back into her arms, and felt strong hands rubbing comforting circles into her back. “You are going to be a big sister, Hera.”

“Will it be a boy or a girl?”

“We won’t know until the baby comes.”

Hera looked at her mother’s stomach, and pointed a finger. “The baby is in there?”

She laughed. “It is. The baby will grow.”

Slowly, but surely, the baby did. She was watching her mother one day in the morning after breakfast. She was folding clothes, when Hera finally noticed the curve of her mother’s stomach under the bodice of her dress.

Her mother noticed her staring and laughed, and clutched a hand to the swelling on her lower abdomen. She didn’t say anything, but just smiled and enjoyed the moment.

But she was sick all the time. Her mother would be nauseous and unable to eat anything for long periods of time. She tried to eat when she could, and her father was constantly trying to help.

One day she lay down to rest, and Hera went on a walk outside with her father. She asked him about why her mother was sick all the time.

“That can happen when someone is expecting a baby. It happened when we were expecting you.”

“But will Mama be okay?”

“Yes. Over time, it will get better. Mama needs rest.” He took her hand, and they continued walking.

One day, she was playing on the rocks nearby the house with her older cousin, Ree. They were jumping from rock to rock as they always did, occupying themselves when they had no other game to play.

“So you’re going to be an older sister?”

“Mama is having a baby.” Hera climbed onto the rock and slid down the other side.

Ree followed. “Are you nervous?”

Hera turned to look at him. “What do you mean?”

“Do you feel nervous?”

“Why would I be nervous?”

“Because.”

“That’s not an answer,” Hera retorted, as she swung a foot onto a rock and leapt from it.

“Having a baby can be dangerous,” Ree called to her. He sprinted to catch up.

Hera didn’t respond. Ree climbed to the top of the rock she was on and looked her in the eye. “You almost died when you were born.”

Those words cut like shards of glass. She looked down at her feet, trying to process it. “I don’t believe you.” Hera continued on her way.

“My mother told me. You were born early.”

“Shut up.”

Ree scoffed. “Well, it’s true. You were born nearly two weeks early, and a bunch of people thought you would die because you were so small.” He continued following her.

“Shut up! I don’t want to talk about this.”

Hera jumped onto another rock. Ree followed, yet again.

“Sometimes mothers can die too.”

Hera was spitting mad, and she spun on her heel, pushing Ree off the rock in a forceful shove. He fell on his rear, and she ran back to the house and hid.

But her father, like always, found her in her hiding spot. He made her apologize to Ree, and that was the end of that.

Her father was disappointed, and that was the worst feeling to her. He hadn’t even asked about the awful things Ree had said to her, and Ree was in no mood to say anything to her for the rest of the day.

There was nothing she wanted more than to just cry, and that’s what she did. Hera lay down on her pillow, and hoped that maybe everything would just wash away with her tears.

The door to her room opened, and Hera heard her mother enter. She felt the mattress sink as her mother sat down next to her.

In a firm, but kind voice, she asked, “Hera, what did he tell you?”

Hera didn’t respond. She felt that hand at her back, warm and comforting. “Hera,” she said, firmer than before, “what did Ree tell you?”

Hera sat up next to her mother, and rubbed her eyes with her fists.

“Take a deep breath, dear.”

Hera did so, and her tears eventually stopped. She inched closer to her mother.

“Ree told me...”

Her mother raised a brow. “Told you what?”

“He told me about when I was born. He said…” Hera took a breath, trying to calm herself down like her mother taught her to do. “He said I almost died.”

Her mother stiffened at this information. “What else did he say?”

“He said mothers can die when they have a baby. Is that true, Mama?”

Her mother opened her arms, and Hera almost leaped into them. She began to cry again.

“I’m going to tell you the truth, nothing but the truth,” her mother told her, and released Hera from her embrace, and Hera could tell it was getting hard for her mother to hug her with the baby bump. She took her daughters’ hands in her own.

“It’s possible. It’s completely possible for a mother to die.” Hera started to cry again, and her mother gently took her back into a hug as best she could. “But I have faith that things will be alright. It’s okay to be cautious about matters we are unsure about.”

“I want you to be okay.”

Hera saw her mother look at her. “I know,” she whispered. “I know.”

Hera laid down on her bed, and her mother laid next to her and took her hand. “But can you promise me one thing?” she asked her daughter.

Hera nodded again.

“Think positively. I don’t want you to worry about such things now.”

Hera nodded and looked away.

“Did I almost die when I was born?”

Her mother reached a hand to caress her daughter’s cheek.

Before she had a chance to respond, Hera continued. “Ree said I was born early.”

“You were born two weeks early. You were small, and some thought that you might be too frail to live.” Hera didn’t say anything.

“But I had hope. Your father and I waited and nursed you, and now, you’re here. That’s what matters, love.”

Hera closed her eyes as she lay there with her mother. She wanted to stay there as long as she could.

It’s alright to be a little scared.

Hera followed her mother’s request, and didn’t think about it anymore. Eventually what Ree said to her faded and became less jarring, and they were back to their games on the rocks again.

She didn’t speak to anyone for some time about the baby or having one, but she certainly thought about it. She liked watching her mother’s belly grow ever so slightly as time passed, and how she was even happier than normal.

Her father was also happy, but extremely anxious, never seeming to be far away from her mother. They would often clasp hands and sit, eyes closed in silence, just enjoying each other’s company.

Sometimes the baby would move and kick in her mother’s belly. She’d lose her breath, and often sat down, trying to calm the little one in her belly with gentle rubbing.

It was a moment just like that when they were outside in the cool morning air. Hera was looking up at the sky, and the words slipped out of her mouth. “Mama?”

“Yes?”

“How are babies made?” She had been pondering it for a while, and knew that if she was going to ask, she figured it’d be better to ask her mother.

Her mother paused for a moment, not as if the question took her off guard, but as if merely looking for an answer to give.

“With love,” was her answer.

Hera considered this for a hard moment. “I still don’t understand.”

“And you might not until you’re older.”

Her mother looked up at the sky with Hera, and didn’t seem to have any more explanation. But Hera wasn’t done asking questions.

“Was I made with love?”

“Well you were a baby once,” her mother replied, looking back to her daughter.

Hera frowned. “Will I have a baby when I’m older?”

“That’s up to you.” Her mother leaned over and kissed Hera on the cheek. “You’ll always be my baby, Hera.”

As the months progressed, Hera knew the baby was coming. She really wanted to meet the baby. She wondered if they would like her, and she certainly hoped that they would.

One night, Hera peeked into her parents’ room, finding her mother reclining on their bed, and her father sitting next to her, datapad in hand. The world was at a warm still.

Her mother opened an eye to see her daughter, as if she knew she was there the whole time. With her free hand, she gestured for Hera to come. Hera climbed onto the bed and sat next to her mother.

Her mother sucked in a breath and clutched her swollen belly.

“Mama!”

“I’m okay,” she told Hera, as her father moved closer to his wife. Hera didn’t think it was the baby kicking though, but she was too afraid to ask.

“Baby,” Hera repeated to herself. The life in her mother’s belly never ceased to amaze her after all these months.

“You are going to be a big sister, Hera.” Hera looked down to see her mother cup her hands in her own. “You’ll be wonderful.”

“When will the baby come?”

“Soon,” her mother promised. “Very soon.”

Her mother placed a hand at the back of Hera’s head and planted a soft kiss on her forehead.

Hera looked up to her father, as he leaned to kiss her mother, and then picked Hera up in his arms. “Time to sleep.”

And Hera did fall asleep in her own room, but was awoken in the first hour of the morning by her mother’s cry of pain. She shot up, trying to get out of bed to see what was happening, when her father’s sister came to ask that she stay where she was, and that she would be back shortly.

Hera was not allowed to see her mother yet, no matter how much she wanted to. She tried to occupy herself with her toy ships, ignoring the stress and pain the house seemed to be saturated with.

And finally, her father came in exhausted, but happy. Hera ran into his arms, as he gently stroked her lekku.

“Is mama okay?”

“She’s just fine,” her father told her, as he let go of his embrace and took her hand. “And your brother is healthy.”

And Hera practically ran, dragging her father down the hallway to her parents’ room.

Hera saw her mother, perfectly fine, cradling a bundle. She was covered in a thin layer of sweat, with circles under her eyes, but her smile couldn’t have been brighter. The nurse stood right nearby, washing her hands in a bowl of water. Hera’s grandmother sat in her chair, resting her eyes. Cham’s sister had left to inform the other members of the household of the healthy delivery.

Her mother looked up and smiled at her daughter, gesturing for her to once again come forward. Hera ran and hurried onto the bed. She put a finger to her lips to make sure her daughter was quiet.

“Come closer.”

Hera pulled back the edge of the blanket to see her little brother laying there in her mother’s arms. He was a pale orange with chubby cheeks and the tiniest hands Hera had ever seen.

“I’m a big sister now.”

“You are, darling. Would you like to hold him?”

Her mother made sure she sat with her legs crossed, and placed the baby in her arms, ensuring that his head was supported and she wouldn’t let go. Her father sat down next to her.

The baby was a lot smaller than Hera expected and he didn’t seem to be able to do much. He opened his eyes and stared up, squinted, then shut them again. His face scrunched up as he began to squall.

“It’s alright,” her mother said, as she helped Hera rock him gently in her arms. He seemed soothed by the motion, and quieted down again. “Everything is new to him.”

Hera handed the baby back to her mother, and curled up next her. Her father sat next to them, and eventually leaned back onto his pillow.

And Hera wanted to stay like this. She looked up again to see the tiny feet of her baby brother and some part of her just wanted to be the best big sister she could be. She wanted to teach him everything she knew about this vast world. She wanted to keep him safe.

**Author's Note:**

> I've had trouble finding the amount of technology on Ryloth, because in Lords of the Sith, they have access to limited technology in the villages and rural regions of Ryloth, while Cham Syndulla and the Free Ryloth movement have lots of weapons and other advanced machinery. 
> 
> That was coupled with the fact that I never really got the full grasp of the extent of the Star Wars universe's prenatal care system, for Padme presumably died from childbirth, and there's been some finicky stuff when it comes to childbirth anyways in canon. 
> 
> I don't know where Ree came from, maybe some back burner in my mind, but all he reminded me of was that boy on the elementary school playground who somehow could find a way to make someone scared over something they hadn't thought of before. I attempted to give some depth to the situation, but I'm not sure if it worked or not. And while we know that Hera's mother is likely to be okay, even with the best care in the world, childbirth is terrifying.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed, and I would love to discuss in the comments, if anyone has any thoughts about Hera and her brother. I feel like it's a topic that has many interpretations, and I'd like to hear them all.


End file.
